The Year Mr. Potato Head Ran For Mayor Of Boise

The 1985 mayoral race in Boise was one of record breaking caliber. It wasn't because of voter turnout or funds raised, it instead had to do with the fact that one candidate had interchangeable parts and no genitalia to speak of.

I honestly didn't know they still made these things. I had one as a kid, and like most of my collectibles growing up--Star Wars and G.I. Joe included--I was probably pressured by my older brother to blow Mr. Potato Head to smithereens with a firecracker in my backyard. It wasn't until a recent trip to the toy store in search of something for my 2-year-old son, that I saw him, bound to the inside of a plastic box.

(Back to the race)

It turns out, four votes for Mr. Potato Head were cast by mail during the 1985 election for mayor of Boise, thus setting a Guinness Book world record for most votes in a political election for a toy, according to Mr. Potato Head's wiki page. That year, Dick Eardley, who held the position for more than a decade, went on to make a hash brown out of Mr. Potato Head.

Shortly after the defeat, Mr. Potato Head went into talent management, where he signed rapper City Spud. After retiring several years later, he moved the family out of the country, settling down in the city of Bat Yam, Israel. Mr. Potato Head currently works as a driver for tuber.

I could do this all day.

Anyway, did you know the earliest Mr. Potato Heads were actual potatoes? That's right, consumers paid a couple of bucks for plastic limbs and other accessories. Children of the 50s and 60s then crammed them into actual potatoes (or other fruits and veggies) for entertainment. Below is the earliest known commercial for Mr. Potato Head.